


Safe and Sound

by steveharringtonofficial



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mention of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-02 18:50:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13324335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steveharringtonofficial/pseuds/steveharringtonofficial
Summary: You run into Billy Hargrove, the new bad boy in town, who seems to take a liking to you. You keep telling him to back off but somehow, he worms his way into your life.





	1. Chapter 1

Monday mornings were always a trivial task. You lazily pressed the snooze button on your alarm clock, rolling over to get that extra five minutes of sleep before begrudgingly getting up and out of your safe haven of a bed. You stumbled into the bathroom, took one look at your dishevelled figure and groaned.

It didn’t take you long to get ready, it never did since you perfected your little routine. Smudged Kohl eyeliner around the eyes, a little bit of red lipstick blended out so that it wasn’t too bright, straightened hair some days, curled the other.

You grabbed a slice of toast your mother had made you perfectly on time before you ran out the door, waving a little goodbye while fumbling for your car keys in your jean jacket pocket. Slice of toast hanging from your mouth, you unlocked your car, hopped in, took one last look in the rear-view mirror to check you actually looked OK in daylight, and drove off.

You almost screamed in frustration as the last parking space was taken up by some fast driving asshole, forcing you to park out on the street. You watched the car from where you had parked, taking note of the driver so you could approach them about it later. A little girl got out first, and immediately began skateboarding off to the middle school. But your eyes seemed stuck on the blond man who came out of the car afterwards. He wasn’t someone you had ever seen before, you would definitely have remembered someone who looked like that. He took one look around before lighting a cigarette and walking in the direction of the school.

You decided it was time for you to stop acting like a stalker and get into school as well. You pulled your bag out of the backseat of the car and began your short walk through the doors.

Turns out, the mysterious boy had been given the locker right next to yours. You breathed in as you braced yourself for what might happen next. You strolled up beside him, unlocking your locker. You could feel his gaze on you but he didn’t say a word until you turned to face him. Your eyes landed on a fresh bruise on his right eye and then to a small cut in his lip. Yet when you looked down at his knuckles, they were clean. The boy cleared his throat and you jolted your gaze back up to his face.

“Need something, or are you just going to keep checking me out?” He said, voice running as smooth as honey. He shut his own locker door and leant up against the row of lockers. You pulled your locker almost shut so you could get a better look at him.

“I wasn’t-” You were about to argue that you weren’t checking him out like he said, but you would have been lying if you hadn’t noticed his other qualities. “You shouldn’t drive so fast in the parking lot.” You said quickly, returning to the contents of your locker, scanning desperately for the books you needed.

“Who’s complaining?” You saw him shrug out of the corner of your eye.

You grabbed the books you needed and took them into your arms, promptly closing the locker door afterwards. You turned to face him. “Me. I’m complaining.”

He leaned close to you, so close you could smell his smokey breath. “Well, isn’t that a shame sweetheart?” The boy smirked, noticing how tense you got at his close proximity.

You closed your eyes for a second in an attempt to resolve yourself. “If you kill someone, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” You sighed as you turned and walked in the direction of your first class, but you could hear his footsteps follow you and he was soon at your side.

“I’m Billy, by the way. Billy Hargrove.” He touched you gently on the shoulder, causing you to stop in the middle of the corridor and shrug off his hand.

“It’s not so nice to meet you, Billy Hargrove. I’m [Y/N] [Y/L/N].” Billy looked hurt at your comment but ended up smiling.

“What can I do to make it nicer?” He brought his hand up and scratched his chin in thought, all the time keeping his eyes on you.

“Drive better.” You rolled your eyes at him and began walking away, leaving Billy standing where he was.

* * *

It hasn’t even been a week when you’d heard the rumours about Billy. He was a charmer and already had all the girls falling for him. But he had a temper that was not to be reckoned with, and had already gotten into quite a few fights and had to be pulled to the principal’s office.

Each time the two of you met at your lockers, he would always shoot you a smile, and you smiled back out of courtesy. He never tried to start another conversation with you in that first week, though you could always feel his eyes on you whenever he was nearby.

The next week, however, the Tuesday, Billy waved a familiar flyer in your face when he caught you at the.lockers. The one advertising Tina’s annual Halloween party, that you and all the other kids in your year had been invited to.

“Are you going?” Billy asked you with his signature grin on his face after you snatched the flyer to keep him from waving it in your face.

You pushed the flyer back into his chest and he grabbed it from your hand, still awaiting your answer. “It’s on a Wednesday, is that even smart?” You shook your head gently and looks back at Billy who was analysing the flyer.

“We’re high school kids. We’re not meant to be smart. Are you going or not?” He asked again, slipping the flyer through the vents in his locker to save time opening it.

“I mean, probably.” You said though you weren’t convinced. You would have to persuade your mother to let you go, and if it had been a Friday or Saturday, she probably would have said yes.

Billy looked down at you with pleading eyes. “You have to go, you’ll be my only friend there.” He said to you, and you scrunched up your nose in confusion before laughing.

“First off, Hargrove, we’re not friends. Second, you have plenty of friends – or admirers at least.” You nodded your head in the direction of some girls who were practically drooling over the sight of Billy in his tight-fitting jeans.

He turned to look at them, shooting them a smile and a little wave, causing them to scream slightly and giggle amongst themselves. You rolled your eyes so hard they probably could have seen the back of your head, and he noted your unenthusiastic response.

“You’re the only person who actually talks to me.” He said, still trying to convince you that the two of you were friends. You weren’t sure Billy knew what ‘friends’ were.

“I told you off once for driving like an ass and that was it.” You stated, crossing your arms in front of your chest to emphasise you unamusement.

Billy groaned at you and placed a hand on your shoulder. “Just come, okay?”

“We’ll see, Hargrove.” Billy wandered off, content with the answer that he had finally gotten.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Billy convene at the party, bonding ever so slightly. You never realised this meant that he would sneak into your room for nightly escapes.

The party was already in full swing by the time you got there. You were dragged off by some random person as soon as you walked through the doors, straight to the drinks. They poured you a cup of red liquid and shoved it into your hands with a “drink this!”

“What the hell is this?” You asked, eyeing the liquid in what was now your cup.

“Pure fuel!” They shouted, running off to drag another poor fellow to the drink.

You took a wary sip of the drink, to find that it was actually quite pleasant, and you had noted that a lot of other people seemed to be drinking it so there was nothing to be afraid of.

You wandered around the party for a while, saying hi to a couple of friends, dancing to a few songs with strangers, before you found yourself out the back where the boys were doing keg stands.

Billy had just finished his and the other boys set him down while he spat out the remainder of alcohol which was left over in his mouth. You couldn’t help but let your eyes wander to his shirtless form; his leather jacket covering his muscular arms but showing off his glistening, toned torso.

Billy noticed you looking at him and shouted your name before striding over to meet you. He almost hugged you, before you backed away from him and he took note of your boundaries.

“I didn’t think you’d come!” Billy sounded genuinely excited that you were there and you weren’t sure what you had done to deserve that emotion.

“Yeah, well, I snuck out.” You shrugged your shoulder whilst also letting out a laugh. You went to drink from your cup but found it empty. “Shit, I’m out.”

Billy grabbed your cup from your hand and chucked it onto a table, before finding you a can of beer and handing it over to you. You nodded a ‘thank you’ and took a swig of the new alcohol.

The two for you stood in silence for a little bit while you finished off some cans of beer. You found yourself a little cold though, despite the alcohol giving you a warm tingly feeling. You started shivering slightly and brought a hand to your other arm to try and warm yourself up. Before you knew it, warmth was spreading through your upper body as Billy had placed his jacket over your shoulders, revealing his fully shirtless body.

You looked up at him, pulling his jacket over you more tightly in an attempt to block out the harsh October air. “Thanks.” You smiled and he smiled back at you.

“It’s getting pretty late,” Billy said, looking around and seeing that the party had died down and there was now significantly fewer people around. “Do you need a ride home? Considering you snuck out and all.”

You thought for a second before accepting his offer. “Sure. As long as you promise not to stalk me after you find out where I live.” You pointed a finger at him accusingly.

Billy held his hands up above his head. “No promises.” He winked at you before walking off in the direction of the front door, you following in tow.

You reached his car, and Billy skipped in front of you to open the passenger door. You stared at him in shock for a second before getting in, with him closing the door and getting into his own side.

Your ride was silent except for you giving the occasional directions. Billy had noted that you only lived just around the corner from him, which you thought was a weird thing to say until you realised he was probably just trying to make conversation. You had been trying to distance yourself from the boy ever since you had heard about how violent he could be, but you couldn’t help but wonder about the times he strolled into school, battered up but with clean hands.

You were so caught up in your thoughts that you hadn’t noticed Billy had reached your house until he said your name a few times. When you finally looked round to him, looking slightly dazzled and confused, he let out a small laugh.

“We’re here,” Billy said, leaning back against his chair with his eyes on you.

You turned to look and saw what was, in fact, your house. You thanked him and started to get out the car, but Billy leant forward and grabbed your arm before you could leave.

You stared at his grip as a warning to him to let go, which he did after remember how you never liked being touched by him, or anyone for that matter.

“We should hang out sometime,” Billy said to you, still leaning forward slightly but far enough away that you were still comfortable.

You thought about it for a second before making your decision. “Sure.” Was all you said to him.

He nodded, accepting your slightly blunt answer, allowing you to get out the car. You stood on the sidewalk as you watched him speed away before going into your own house.

Billy Hargrove hadn’t necessarily been a dick to you, so you decided you would give it a shot.

You and Billy hadn’t talked to each other much for the rest of the week, besides the occasional 'hello’ at your lockers, or smiles in the corridor.

An odd sound at your window tore you from your studying and you got up to check it out. You pulled back the curtain, to find Billy crouched on the small bit of roof underneath your window frame. You heaved the window up, causing him to look up at you.

“Care to tell me why you’re here?” You asked him, not letting him into your room just yet.

He grinned up at you. “I said we should hang out sometime.” Billy nodded his head into your room and you gave in, moving out of the way to let him stumble into your room, if only to stop the wind coming through.

You pulled the window back down before turning to look at Billy, noticing another bruise that hadn’t been there the day before. You did your usual routine and checked his slightly on-show chest for bruises, and then his knuckles. His chest was slightly red, but you could put that down to the cold. His hands, however, were clean, as they almost always were. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, causing you to look back up at his face.

“I have a phone, you know. You don’t need to knock on my window like a stalker, which, by the way, you said you wouldn’t do.” You moved back over to your desk where you tidied up your books a little bit, looking for something to do other than look at Billy and analyse his marks.

“One - I don’t know your number. Two - I said no promises.” Billy leant back onto the frame of your bed, making the wood creak slightly. “Plus I needed to get out the house anyway.”

You whipped your head around in confusion. “Why?”

You saw his expression change slightly and his eyes that were normally focused on you looked everywhere but on you. “Sorry, you don’t need to tell me.” You said, before going back to stacking your books into a pile and sorting your pencils into a cup.

“It’s alright. I’ve just never had anyone ask that before.” Billy said quietly. You could tell his face was pointed towards the floor from the way his voice travelled, even with your back turned.

“I just notice things, I guess.” You pushed your chair underneath your desk and turned to face him once again. His eyes found their way back up to you, but their demeanour was slightly different.

“Things?” He asked, curiosity in his voice.

“Yeah.” You nodded your head and you could see he was waiting for examples. “Like, sometimes you show up with these bruises, but not a scratch on your knuckles.” You hung your head slightly as if you were ashamed of saying what you were saying.

“You notice that?” Billy sounded surprised. He walked towards you slightly and you looked back up to him.

“It’s not hard to notice.” You reached out and took one of his right hand into yours, running your thumbs over his knuckles. “Especially when it happens more often than not.”

Billy looked as if he was about to pull his hand away from you, but stopped himself when he realised it was the first time you had went out of your way to touch him and not the other way around. You were beginning to trust him and he wanted more of that. You were the only person in Hawkins he had actually wanted to be around since he got here. Sure, there were all these girls who were drooling over him, but he felt drawn to you for no reason at all. At least, not that he could think of.

“What are you really doing here, Billy?” You said softly, still running your thumbs over his hand.

He let out a sigh and started walking in the direction of the bed, dropping his hand from yours. He sat down on the edge and put his head in his hands. You sat next to him, placing a hand on his back in an attempt to comfort him.

“I needed to get away from everything. You were the only place I could think of.” You could barely hear him through his hands but he turned his head to look up at you, watching for a reaction.

You bit your lip in thought. “Well, I’ll try to help as best I can. What can I do?”

Billy sat up on the bed, causing your hand to fall from his back slightly. He looked up at your ceiling and pressed his lips together. “Exactly what you’re already doing.”

You looked up at him with furrowed brows. “You mean rubbing your back or something else.” You let out a little giggle making Billy look down at you with a smile.

He shrugged his shoulders gently. “I mean, yeah, that’s actually pretty nice. But what I meant was silently looking out for me, being my little safe haven.”

“It’s been two weeks and that’s what I am?” You brought your legs up onto the bed so you were sitting in a more comfortable cross-legged position.

“Hawkins is a small town, alright. I’ll tell you when I find a quiet field or something.” Billy let out a chuckle and you found yourself smiling at the fact that was probably the first time you heard him genuinely laugh.

“Billy, I’ll let you in on a little secret; there are fields all around the town.”

He put a hand on your knee and acted shocked. “Well, shit, what am I doing here then?”

You rolled your eyes at him and stood up from where you were sitting, letting his hand fall from your leg. “Well, you said we should hang out. Are we doing that here or somewhere else?” You put your hands on your hips in thought of something you could do if Billy didn’t want to stay here.

“Well, I’m getting kinda hungry, and since I won’t be going home for dinner…” Billy trailed off, looking at your clock which read 6:47 pm.

“We could go to Benny’s Burgers? I’m sure my mom won’t mind if I skip out on dinner to help a friend in need.”

Billy nodded his head in agreement and you went to grab a jacket from your closet and suddenly noticed you still had Billy’s jacket from the party. You pulled it out from the hanger you had set it on and held it out for Billy.

“Here. I forgot to give this back.”

Billy pushed the jacket back to you. “Keep it. It looks better on you anyway.”

You smiled at what he said and swung the jacket over your shoulders. “Come on.” You started towards the door but Billy looked at you confusedly.

“I came in through the window, is your mom not gonna freak out?”

You waved him off. “I’m not having you break your leg jumping from my window, alright?”

Billy held his hands up in defeat and followed you out of your bedroom door and down the stairs.

Billy spent most of his time admiring your family photos hung up along the stairwell, as well as dotted around the living room. You ran off to explain to your mom what you were doing, but he stayed and looked at how happy you seemed with your family and how much they seemed to care about you, showing off all your achievements around the house. He finally found his way into the kitchen where you were talking to your mom.

She gasped slightly when she saw him. “[Y/N]! You didn’t tell me he was so handsome!” She looked at your, mouth agape.

You groaned as you went to drag Billy out of the kitchen and away from your mom who was no doubt about to interrogate him, but Billy stepped forward with his hand out, pushing past you and towards your mom.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. [Y/L/N].” Billy took her hand in his as he shook it gently.

You tapped your foot gently as you waited for Billy to return to you so you could get him out of the house as quickly as possible.

Your mother returned his words with a kind smile and a look towards you that said: “look at this boy!”

“Well, I’ll not keep you two. Have fun.” She wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing and returned to what she had been doing before you showed up.

You got out the front door before Billy spoke up again. “I see where you get your good looks from.” He grinned at you and you gave him a look of “what the fuck”. He shrugged his shoulders and led you to the car.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy slips you a little more info about his personal life at the diner, and slowly but surely realises his feelings for you

You were going to give Billy directions to the diner but he insisted he knew where it was. The poor boy took about five wrong turns before you finally reached your destination. It took everything you had not to laugh at him each time he made a mistake, but he kept telling you he knew where it was and this was ‘just a shortcut’ even though you had lived there all your life and he only just two weeks.

The diner was practically empty which you thought was odd for a Saturday night, but then again you hadn’t been here since before Benny had passed and maybe people stopped coming so much after that.

The two of you sat down in a booth and the waiter took your drinks order before letting you have a look at the menu. You didn’t even have to look at the menu to know what you wanted, you had been ordering the same thing ever since you were a kid - a double burger with bacon and extra cheese on the top, paired with fries and a barbeque dip.

“You like this place?” Billy asked you, taking a look at the menu and deciding what to order.

“Yeah, I used to come here all the time with my dad when I was a kid.” Billy noticed a hint of sadness in your voice and peeked up over the menu.

“Why not anymore?” He asked carefully, remembering that the only sign he saw of your dad was in photographs and not in the house.

“He passed a few years back, and I guess my mom’s just really busy trying to make ends meet so we don’t get to spend a lot of time together.” Billy looked at you sympathetically and you rolled your eyes. “I’m fine, alright? I’ve had enough time to be sad about it.” You smiled at him and he wasn’t sure whether he believed you or not but went back to looking at the menu anyway.

The two of you finally ordered your meals and you were left waiting in silence. You drummed your fingers on the table, your nails tapping the plastic sharply. Billy was staring intently at you, taking in all the features of your face that he hadn’t noticed before; the way the colour in your eyes shifted depending on the light, how you stuck your tongue between your lips when you concentrated on something, how every movement you made was soft and gentle, a complete contrast to his sharp and aggressive nature.

You looked up at him, making him shift his eyes to something else out of embarrassment. You smiled slightly, shocked partially. All the rumours you had heard about him and yet he didn’t seem to fit any of them. He didn’t seem particularly aggressive with you. And he could have had any girl at that party, but instead, he took you home, ignoring every single one of them when you had shown up. You wondered what he had done to earn such passing comments.

“Do you parents not wonder where you are?” You asked him, remembering that he supposedly ran out.

Billy shrugged. “I think Susan does because she worries a lot and always asks if I’m alright. My dad, on the other hand, is probably glad to be rid of me for a while.”

You looked at him, trying to study his expression but he was too hard to read. “Who’s Susan?”

“Oh, she’s my stepmom I guess. The girl I drop off at school is hers, Max.” Billy’s tone was monotonous and you could tell he didn’t really want to talk about it. He didn’t even know why he was telling you all this, normally he would try to keep his home life private, but he saw no problems in telling you at least the bare minimum.

You nodded your head showing your understating of the situation. “Your dad’s not the best then?” You asked cautiously, if your predictions were correct then he wouldn’t want to talk about this at all.

Billy scrunched up his face and his hand that was resting on the table. He let out a sigh and relaxed his posture once more. “He's… yeah, not the best.”

You were silently relieved when the waiter came over with your food, you weren’t quite sure how to continue the conversation after that without prying too much. But Billy’s answer and expressions had pretty much confirmed your suspicion that Billy’s dad was the cause of all this.

Your meal was quiet except for Billy asking you if your meal was alright, with you replying with an enthusiastic nod. It tasted the same as it always had, and you were thankful for the good meal you hadn’t had in such a long time.

You and Billy found yourself wandering out to the car when you were done, having paid and tipped the staff.

“Thanks for bringing me here,” he said to you, looking over at you before you jumped into his car. “I really needed that.”

You smiled at him when he got into the car as well. “No problem, just next time, knock on the front door yeah?”

“What if its 3 am?” Billy’s engine roared as he began to drive out of the parking lot.

“If you come to my house at 3 am, I’ll kill you.” You said jokingly, letting out a small laugh. You rolled down the window slightly to let the wind run through the car, finding it slightly too warm even with it being November and almost winter.

“I don’t think you’d do that, you’re too nice.” Billy grinned over at you, taking his sixth wrong turn of the evening and suddenly realising he was now going in the completely wrong direction.

You shook your head and pointed to another turn that would get him back on track. “I’m not ‘too nice’ I’m just… regular nice.”

“I’m a complete asshole and yet you hang out with me.” He said, trying to convince you that you were much kinder than you saw yourself.

You turned to look at Billy and he flicked his eyes over to you before continuing to look at the road. “You’re not an asshole to me so I have no reason to not hang out with you.”

Billy made a face that made it look like you had a point and didn’t question you further, until you had a thought. “Hey, why aren’t you a dick to me, Billy?”

He bit his lip and looked over at you, slowing the car down slightly to a speed that seemed more bearable. “I’m not really sure.” Billy’s voice was quiet and you knew he was lying,

“Really?” You raised an eyebrow at him and he huffed at you.

“I guess, I don’t know, there’s something about you.” Billy finally pulled up to your house and stopped the car, now able to turn and look at you properly. “You called me out for being a dick in the parking lot but you haven’t held that against me, clearly.”

“I don’t know about that, you drive like shit.” You giggled but he held his hand up and you let him talk more.

“You don’t seem to care about what anyone says about me and you notice things that other people don’t, or do notice and don’t care about.” Billy looked down at his hands and fiddled with his fingers a little bit.

“Like I said, I just notice things.” You unbuckled your seatbelt so that you could lean up against the door. You kept your eyes on Billy who refused to look back up at you.

“But you asked about it. I’ve never had anyone who cared like that before.” Billy looked up at you and his eyes were filled with an emotion you’d never seen before. You couldn’t tell if it was adoration or love or just him being confused at the fact you seemed to care for him.

“I just like making sure people are okay, and you are obviously not, but that’s your business and not mine.”

Billy sighed and looked out of his window, trying to contain his frustration. He wanted to tell you everything, to spill it all and finally talk to someone about it. But at the same time, he didn’t want you to worry, or for you to turn on him and tell everyone, or for something bad to happen to you if you found out.

“You don’t have to tell me anything about what’s happening, Billy. I just need to know you’re alright.” You reached out and touched his shoulder reassuringly, causing Billy to look back at you.

He nodded his head at what you said. “I’m alright.” Billy gave you a weak smile but did his best to try to convince you it was real.

“I’m gonna head in,” you said, pointing towards the car door. “Thanks for actually coming to hang out.” Billy nodded and let you get out the car.

Unlike last time where he sped off almost the second you were out, he waited until you had walked down your pathway and opened the door before driving off, giving you a little wave before doing so. You smiled to yourself as he drove away, and walked into the warmth of your house.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy comes to you in the night after a fight with his dad, and he spills everything.

The next night, you were getting ready for bed when you heard the same knock as the last night on your window. You sighed, pulled a shirt over your head, and went to open the curtains. You saw the same face as last time staring back up at you, only more beaten up. You hastily pulled the window up, urging Billy to crawl into your room.

When Billy stood up, he tried to mask the pain that he was in but he couldn’t help with since as he felt his left side ache. You pulled the window back down and looked over at him trying to mask his emotions.

“What happened?” You asked, voice soft. You reached up to touch the fresh bruise on his face when he pulled away from you.

Billy furrowed his eyebrows. “I got into a fight.” He mumbled, trying to persuade himself as well as you.

You didn’t believe him; it was a Sunday night, who would he be getting into fights with at this time? You didn’t want to push him though, so you sighed and motioned for him to sit on the bed. You went to grab some wipes from the bathroom, something that would help clean up the fresh cuts left on his frame.

When you came back into the room, his body had dropped and his back was hunched over, his eyes trained on the floor.

“Billy?” You said quietly, not wanting to startle him. He looked up at you with complete and utter sadness in his eyes that made your heart drop right to the floor.

You headed over to meet him on the bed, sitting next to him cross-cross legged. You took the wipes you had found and reached for his face but he flinched away from you. He screwed his eyes shut tight and breathed a deep breath.

“I’m sorry.” Billy’s voice was quiet and you could hear it crack slightly. He was holding back tears, and all you wanted to do was make him feel better.

“Don’t be.” You placed a hand on his knee and rubbed your thumb around slightly, trying to reassure him.

You heard him inhale sharply and then he nodded, eyes looking up at you, telling you that you could try to clean him up.

Luckily, it was mainly bruises he had and not cuts, so the alcohol in the wipes didn’t sting too much. You grabbed some cream that you had also found and began to apply that over his bruises as well in the hopes that it would reduce the marks left behind.

You were about to put your makeshift first aid kit away when Billy stopped you.

“There’s more.” He began to lift up his shirt, struggling slightly with the amount of pain it was causing him. You quickly got to your feet to help him get it off, your eyes catching his and he dropped it to the ground.

It took all the strength you had not to kiss him right there and then, and little did you know, Billy was having the exact same reaction.

You grabbed the cream again and began to smooth it around the blossoming bruises around his chest and sides. Billy had begun to get used to the sensation of you touching him so gently and relaxed into your hands. He’d never been treated with such care and he was falling for you. Hard.

“Is that all?” You asked him when you had finished coating all of the bruises you could see. Billy nodded weakly and you placed your items on your bedside table, knowing there was a high possibility you’d encounter this situation again.

You sat down again on the bed, letting Billy sit in silence, thinking over his own thoughts.

“I suppose I should tell you the truth.” He said finally after you don’t know how long.

You smiled at him warmly. “Only if you’re comfortable doing so.”

Billy looked up at you and chewed on his lip. “My dad - he… well, you can see.” He looked down at his bruise covered chest and sighed. “I haven’t really told anyone.”

Your expression immediately changed to one of concern. “Billy, I’m so sorry. Why haven’t you said to anyone?”

“Because who would believe me? He acts all good and nice whenever we’re around anyone else, even Susan didn’t know what he was really like until she accidentally saw it happen one time.” Tears were streaming down Billy’s face but he quickly dried them away before they could continue their path. “And it’s just… difficult.”

You nodded your head, the action causing Billy to look up at you again. “I get it.”

You hadn’t realised how close you’d gotten to Billy until it had gone silent again. The urge you had to kiss him earlier had surfaced again and you felt yourself being pulled even closer to him, or was it Billy who was coming closer? He had noticed it as well, and couldn’t stop himself from staring down at your lips and wondering how they would feel on his.

Soon, your lips had met and they melted right into each other. Your perfectly smooth ones clashed with his chapped ones, but your lip balm soon rectified that. Billy had managed to get a hand to your waist while you brought one up to his bare chest, letting your delicate fingers touch him once more. You let the feeling of him sink into you, the way your heart fluttered at every movement of his lips, never wanting the sensation to end. In one swift movement, Billy pulled you onto his lap, pulling back out of your kiss slightly to wince at the pain he had caused himself. But he ended up laughing at himself and broke your kiss off completely.

“I never thought I’d end tonight like this.” Billy grinned at you, running his hands from your waist down to your hips and to your thighs, then all the way back up again.

“If you don’t kiss me again right now, Hargrove, I can assure you it won’t end like this.” You jokingly threatened, but he obliged, pressing his lips back onto yours, letting your butterflies rise up again so much so you thought they might burst right out of your stomach.

* * *

The next morning you woke up with a snoring Billy next to you, sleeping peacefully. You didn’t want to wake him out of his slumber but if he didn’t get up now then he’d be late to school, and you knew that he had to take Max in.

“Billy,” you said, rubbing him on the shoulder gently to try and wake him up.

“Hm?” He groaned and pulled the covers up over him tighter.

“Billy, you need to get up.” Your voice was sweet and it took all Billy had to not smile at the sound of it.

“[Y/N], your bed is so much more comfortable than mine.” Billy rolled over and flashed you a smile before leaning up to give you a small kiss.

Your cheeks turned a light pink as he leant back down into your bed. “Well you can sleep in it anytime, but we need to go to school.”

He rolled his eyes at you and got out of the bed, allowing you to admire his body before he turned around to look at you. He might have been covered in bruises but he looked damn good.

“I guess I have to go get Max.” His face turned a little sour but it was more from the thought of having to leave you rather than his sister. Billy picked up his clothes from the floor and slid them on. “I’ll see you at school, doll.” He gave you another kiss before heaving your window open and hopping out. You watched him carefully climb down, hoping he wouldn’t hurt himself. He gave you a quick wave before walking out onto the street and in the direction of his house.

* * *

When you finished up with school, Max was waiting by Billy’s car which seemed pretty unusual for her. She skipped up to you, skateboard in hand, when she saw you and Billy approaching.

“So  _you’re_  the girl that made us late this morning.” She flicked her eyes between the two of you, before settling them back on you again. “Well, I suppose you could be worse. Billy actually smiled today, you know that? I think you’re a miracle worker.” She grinned at you and though you couldn’t see him, you knew Billy was rolling his eyes beside you.

You let out a laugh and were about to say something but Billy got his words out before you did.

“Let’s go, Max, before you embarrass [Y/N].” He smiled your way before striding towards the car.

Max widened her eyes and whispered “see?!” before hopping into the passenger seat of Billy’s car. You shook your head and smiled slightly whole you moved out of the way so that Billy could reverse out.

If Billy was being kind to Max, you must be a good influence. He had always seemed to push her away, but you started to see him show some kindness towards her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy takes a beating and you help Max take care of him, until his dad comes back and boots you out.

Max ended up round at your door that night, breathless from running all the way round to your street. You were initially startled that she even knew where you lived, but were more concerned as to why she was actually here. Max ran into your house the second you opened the door.

“Max, what are you doing here?” You asked her, concern in your voice. You stood with your hands on your hips.

“It’s Billy. You need to… come over… and help him.” She said, panting every few seconds. She looked up at you with worry.

You knelt down so that you were at eye level with her. “Max, calm down a little. What happened?”

Max took a few more breaths before starting over. “I don’t know. All I saw was Neil hitting Billy and now he’s not getting up. He left with my mom and I don’t know where he went.”

“Why didn’t you call an ambulance or something?”

“Before he clocked out, he told me not to and to go find you.” Max looked genuinely worried for Billy and you gave her a small hug to help her calm down.

“Right, well. We better get going, yeah?” Max nodded to you and you grabbed your keys for your car. You were thankful your parents weren’t home, otherwise, they definitely would have made a fuss about Billy.

Max jumped into your car right before you and you noticed her biting her nails out of anxiety. You sighed and began driving over to their house.

Right enough, only Billy’s car was sitting out front, signalling that their parents had gone. You barely had time to turn your engine off before Max was up and out and running down the path to her house. You got out and ran after her, following her through to Billy’s bedroom where he was lying unconscious on the floor.

You mumbled “shit” before dropping to your knees to check his pulse and whether he was breathing. You were about to ask Max to go grab you some ice when you noticed her crying in the doorway.

“What’s wrong, Max?” You went over to her to check up on her and she instinctively wrapped her arms around your middle, crying into you.

“I didn’t know.” She said through her tears. “I didn’t know this was happening.”

You brushed her hair with your hand, trying your best to reassure her. “It’s okay, Max.”

“I should have seen it though. I should have known.” She looked up at you with her big blue eyes filled with tears and the sight made you want to cry yourself.

“Billy’s always been an asshole, right? You had no reason to assume there were reasons behind it. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” She nodded her head and quickly wiped her tears from her face with the sleeve of her shirt.

“You know, I thought being here, moving here, would make him worse but… I think you’re helping him.” Max’s eyes wobbled over to Billy who was still in the same position you had left him.

“Yeah, maybe.” You smiled down at her and she finally let go of you.

The two of you found some ice to put on Billy’s newly formed bruise. You would never get used to seeing him this way, vulnerable and hurt. You struggled to get Billy up onto the bed to help make him more comfortable when he came to. You desperately wanted to phone for help but if Billy asked Max not to then you had to respect his wishes.

You sat on the floor next to the bed, leaning onto the side of it while Max hung about the doorway. She occasionally left to check outside whenever she heard a car go past, or to grab more ice when it started melting. Her genuine worry was confusing to you, considering you knew he had been a dick to her beforehand. Maybe she had more love in her heart than Billy had.

You heard Billy move and tilted your head up to see if he had woken up or not. He fluttered his eyes open, blinking a few times and then squinting at the light you had to switch on since it was getting dark. He tried to sit up, but ultimately failed and fell back onto the bed, grabbing his head where he had been hit the hardest.

You stood up and sat next to him on the bed, taking the makeshift ice back from where it had fallen off his head and handing it to him. Billy looked up at you and then to Max who was now back in the doorway and reluctantly took the ice pack from you.

“[Y/N], what are you doing here?” Billy asked, voice hoarse as he tried to get the words out. He fully rested back on the bed and closed his eyes again.

“Max came and got me. She told me a little about what happened.” You rubbed your hand on his forearm comfortingly. “Are you alright? Minus the being knocked out part.”

He chuckled but then had to stop because of the pain. “I’ve had worse.” You eyed him concernedly and he waved you off. “I’ll be fine, [Y/N]. Don’t worry about it.”

Billy managed to sit himself up on the bed, still holding the ice pack to his face. “But you need to go. I don’t know what my dad will do if he sees you here.”

“Relax, Billy. Your dad’s abusive to you but what’s he gonna do to me?” You remembered that Billy had said his dad acted all nice and kind with everyone but him, so why would you be any different?

He furrowed his brows in frustration. “Because you know now. He’ll know that you know if you’re here.” Billy sounded strained, he didn’t want you to get hurt because of him. His eyes shifted over to Max who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. “And God knows what he’ll do to Max.”

You were about to say something back to Billy but all three of you turned your head when you heard a car door slam shut right outside the house. Max ran out of the room to go check, coming back a few seconds later and saying, “it’s him”.

Billy looked at you with all the fear in the world in his eyes. He got up off the bed quicker than you’d ever seen him move and he pushed you towards the window of his room. “[Y/N], you need to go.” He heaved up the window, even with pain surging all the way through his body. You started to argue back but he cut you off. “You are not getting hurt because of me. I won’t allow it. Now leave.”

But it was too late, Neil was already in the house and stomping towards Billy’s room. His eyes fixated on you as he entered and Billy screwed his eyes shut, fearing the worst.

“Who are you?” He asked you, anger tinging his voice, but you could tell he was trying to keep calm. A woman stood behind him, fidgeting with her fingers. You assumed it was Susan.

Billy looked at you and begged you not to say anything but you pushed past him, towards his dad. “I’m [Y/N], I came over to help Billy with a school project, I hope you don’t mind.”

Neil’s eyes shifted towards Billy who was trying his best to act like you were telling the truth, then to the bed where he saw the ice pack. It clearly wasn’t standard practice for Billy to have one, or at least not for Neil to notice it. He pointed to it. “What’s that?” He was testing you and you could tell.

“Oh, well, Billy, being the type of person who he is, said he got in another fight, so I was just trying to help.” You were good at lying and you knew that, but you weren’t sure if he was buying it.

He nodded once, still looking at you with suspicion. “Well, I think you can work on your project some other time. It’s getting pretty late anyway, aren’t your parents worried?” He asked you, and you felt your heart screw tight. You didn’t want to leave Billy but you didn’t want to press his dad either out of fear Billy would be hurt more by it.

“Yeah, they probably are.” You walked over to grab your jacket which was back over by Billy who was feared to look at you. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Billy?” You spoke to him and he nodded gently. “It was nice meeting you, Mr Hargrove, and you too, Mrs Hargrove.” You looked towards Susan who shot you a weak smile. You could tell this was not what she signed up for.

Neil’s eyes followed you as you walked out of the house, Susan following you to let you out. You thanked her and stepped out, sighing as you felt completely terrible for leaving Billy in there again. You’d hoped he’d be done for the day, that he’d leave Billy alone. But you would just have to wait and see.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You find out the extent of Billy’s injuries, and keep him with you at his request.

You headed out to your car that was still parked outside, tilting your head back to the Hargrove house one last time before getting in. You drove off slowly, but still reaching your own house in no time at all.

You sat in the driver’s seat with the engine turned off for a while. You couldn’t stop thinking about Billy, about what the hell happened earlier in the day. You didn’t want to leave him there, you truly didn’t, but if you stayed you didn’t know how much worse it could have gotten.

You let out a deep sigh and rested your forehead on the top of the steering wheel, closing your eyes for a second to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall from your eyes. You could feel the lump in your throat worsen as you thought about all the things you could have done instead of running away. You knew you didn’t ‘run’ away, but that’s what it felt like to you.

You eventually got out and made your way inside, making yourself some mac'n'cheese since your parents still weren’t home. You did it slowly, in a bit of a haze, repeating the recipe from your memory. The house was quiet and it was doing you no favours in helping you retreat from your thoughts.

You didn’t hear from Billy for the next few days, and he wasn’t in school the Monday or Tuesday. You wanted to go around and check on him, but if you showed up again you had no idea what sort of punishment he might get just for you checking up on him.

You ran into Max on your way out of school. She was already skateboarding down the street but you called her name a few times and she eventually halted to a stop, picking up her board and turning round to look at you.

“Hey, [Y/N].” She said, smiling weakly at you. Her eyes were all red and puffy from crying and you were wondering if Neil had started on her as well.

“You need a ride home?” You asked her, gesturing over to your car, keys jingling in your hand as you moved it. You wanted to talk but it was probably best you did that in a more secluded place than the high school parking lot. The car was the best option right now.

Max nodded her head and followed you over to your car, slinging her skateboard in the back before settling herself in the front. You got in your side and drove out of the lot slowly.

“You alright?” You asked, glancing over with a look of concern covering your face.

She nodded, giving you a quiet “yeah”. She proceeded to look out the window, avoiding your eyes.

“Could you tell me how Billy is?” Your voice wavered as you thought about all of the things that could have happened to him over the last few days.

“He's… okay.” Max breathed out, screwing her eyes shut. She was lying to you, and she really didn’t want to be.

You nodded your head slowly, not quite believing her. “Are you sure?”

She sighed and looked over at you, your eyes focused on the road. “He didn’t want me to say anything to you.”

“Okay… And?”

“My mom took him to the hospital after Neil left on Saturday. He’s got a broken nose and a fracture on his cheekbone.” Max had to take pauses to try and stop herself from crying. You could hear her ragged breathing from the other side of the car.

“And how’s Neil?” You asked her, giving her another glance to make sure she was alright.

“He’s angry. I don’t know why. Maybe because my mom took Billy to the hospital? Maybe because I saw?” Max picked at her nails, looking for something else to do other than cry.

“Maybe because I was there.” You breathed out, sighing after you said it. “And you? He hasn’t..?” You drifted off, not wanting to ask her the question directly.

Max shook her head quickly. “No, I’m okay. He hasn’t touched me.”

You let out a small smile after hearing that she was okay. You didn’t want Max to get all caught up in this as well.

You approached her house and brought the car to a stop. Max reached for the door but you stopped her before she could open it fully.

“Hey. If you need anything remember I’m right around the corner, yeah?” Max nodded, thanking you at the same time. “And tell Billy to talk to me if he gets the chance?”

“Will do.” She gave you a quick smile before grabbing her board and running off into the house.

You tried doing your homework when you got back but all you could think about was Billy. Your heart completely sank in your chest when you realised how alone and completely vulnerable he must feel right now. That was until a familiar knock came from outside your window.

At first, you thought you were making things up, your brain trying desperately to tear you from your thoughts and onto a fictional reality. But the knocking persisted and you glanced over at your window to see Billy’s face peering through your window.

You got up from your desk and opened the window, letting Billy inside. He stood up in front of you and you took in his face. He had some bandages over his broken nose and his eye somehow looked more swollen than before, the bruise covering a good chunk of his face. He still grinned at you though, and you smiled weakly back.

“Max said you wanted to talk to me, so I came over,” Billy said, his voice cracking slightly as the words came out. He brought his hand up, fingers lightly touching the side of your arm before snaking behind you and pulling you into his chest.

You breathed him in, his faint cologne masked by the smell of cigarettes. You clenched your jaw as you fought back your tears. It had only been a few days but you missed Billy so much, it had drained all the strength from you.

Billy pulled away from you, pressing a kiss to your temple and setting his hands on your shoulders.

“Are you crying, princess?” He chewed on his bottom lip as you averted your gaze from him, stopping your struggle and letting the tears fall from your eyes.

“Oh, [Y/N].” He whispered, voice thick with worry.

You clutched onto the front of his shirt, letting Billy pull you back into another hug. He swayed gently, brushing your hair with his hand, pressing small kisses to the top of your head every so often.

When your ragged breathing stopped and slowed to a regular rate and your soft crying died down, he pulled back just enough to look at your face. Billy brought a hand to your cheek, wiping away your tears with the calloused pad of his thumb.

“I’m sorry.” You looked up into his eyes and he shook his head gently.

“It’s alright.” Billy pressed a kiss to your forehead and let you out of his warm embrace.

You wiped the rest of the tears from your eyes with the sleeve of your sweatshirt. “How are you?” You asked, voice hoarse from the crying.

“I’m fantastic now that I’m seeing you again.” He smiled and you had utterly no idea how he managed to act like he wasn’t breaking apart inside.

You rolled your eyes at him and flopped down onto the bed, lying down with your legs hanging off the side. He followed you, lying at your side.

“How are you really?” You asked, glancing over at him.

Billy propped himself up on his elbow so he could get a better look at you. “Like I said, I’m fine. I’ve been through worse.”

You let out a half-hearted laugh. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Billy took your closest hand in his, it’s warmth immediately radiating out. You sighed at the contact, and closed your eyes for a second, basking in the comfort of being around Billy once again.

You felt him pull your hand upwards, his breath breathing against the back of it before kissing your hand softly. You fluttered your eyes open to Billy staring down at you.

It wasn’t long before you were tangled up in him. He’d pulled you on top of him, hands resting on your hips as yours found their way to his curls. It was desperate, your noses bumping together as you searched for new ways to kiss him, heavy breathing filling the room.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Billy mumbled against your lips as you pulled back ever so slightly for a small breather.

You smiled against him, giving him one last peck before deciding you should get up. Billy propped himself up on his elbows, still underneath you. He gave you a look that begged you to stay but you knew he would have to go home. Out late again and you wouldn’t know what would happen to him.

You traced your fingers down his cheek and around his jawline before getting off of the bed, Billy following you up.

He caught you before you walked too far away from him, pulling you into him. He took a deep breath, taking in your scent.

“Don’t make me go,” Billy whispered and you could feel the tears pooling in your eyes again.

You looked up at him, wiping away the year that had made its way down his cheek. “Will you be okay if you stay?”

Billy nodded. “So long as I’m home to go to school, yeah.”

“Okay then.” You smiled up at him, going on your tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy convinces you to skip school so you can stay with him a while longer, but you convince him you should go somewhere else instead.

Billy woke up in your bed just as he had a few days ago, except he found that instead of waking up to you already being up and about, you were still sleeping soundly next to him. He took a second to take you in; the way all your features softened when you slept, the mess of hair that laid on your head, your soft, rhythmic breathing. He was so in love with you already and he relished in the thought of this becoming a regular occurrence.

He lay back down next to you, making you stir just enough to recognise his presence again and shift so that you were now curled underneath his arm, your cheek pressed to his chest. You traced patterns along his chest with your fingers absentmindedly, asking yourself whether you should get up or stay in the pure bliss that was the arms of Billy Hargrove.

“I think we should skip today.” Billy hummed, tilting his head to look down at you still gently drawing patterns on him.

He said exactly what you were thinking, but you didn’t know if you could get away with it considering your mom always left for work after you would leave for school and she’d notice your car wasn’t gone. You thought about it for a bit, and you considered telling your mom you weren’t feeling well. You hadn’t missed a single day this year, one wouldn’t hurt.

You fluttered your eyes open and looked up at Billy who was still looking down at you. He pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead before you decided to sit up, weighing up your options of what to do. You could go to school, but that meant not staying in bed for an extra few hours curled up next to Billy. Or you could stay at home, risk your mom finding Billy in your room, but get to spend more time with him after not seeing him at all for the past few days.

Clearly, the best option was to stay with Billy. You hopped out of bed and turned to Billy, whose eyes were following you the whole time.

“I’m gonna go tell my mom I’m sick or something.” You said to him and he gave you a sleepy smile in response.

You crept out of your room, carefully shutting the door behind you so Billy would be concealed. You found your mom making breakfast downstairs in the kitchen and when she saw you walk in still in your pyjamas 10 minutes before you would have needed to leave, her eyes immediately turned sympathetic.

“Not feeling well?” She asked, a softness in her voice. She continued buttering the toast, glancing up at you every few seconds.

You nodded your head slowly. “Yeah, I was gonna stay off today, if that’s okay?” You asked her, knowing it was likely that she would say yes but still wary of the fact that she might ask what’s wrong.

She gave you a concerned smile. “Of course, sweetheart. Head back up to bed, I’ll make you some sandwiches before we leave so you can have something to eat later.”

You thanked her and trudged back up to your room, careful with your emphasis on how tired and sick you were. You walked back in to find Billy still curled up in your bed. You’d thought maybe he had fallen back asleep but the second he heard the door open, he looked up towards you.

“Staying home?” He asked you, nodding his head over to the empty space you had left on the bed in an attempt to get you to join him again.

You made your way round to the side you had only just left a few moments ago and slipped back in under the covers, sighing at the warmth it gave you. Billy lifted his arm so that you could find your way back to the position you were in before you left.

“My mom just accepted it. She just said, ‘go back to bed’, and that was it.” You giggled against Billy’s chest, letting him pull you closer to him.

“Good news for me then,” he mumbled into your hair, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“Will you not get in trouble? For not bringing Max to school?” You asked him, tilting your head up to try and get a better look at him.

Billy looked down at you through his lashes and sighed a little. “I’m not supposed to go back until next week, so, no, I shouldn’t.” He bit down on his bottom lip for a bit. “Doesn’t mean I won’t though, I’m not even in the house ‘resting’ like I should be.”

You propped yourself up on your elbow, leaning on your side as you looked over at Billy. “You’re resting here, where you can actually rest.”

Billy hummed, knowing full well the second he set foot back at his house he’d be done for. But it was worth it to him. it was worth getting to spend time with you, the only thing which helped him stop aching for just a little while.

You mom called to you not much later to say she was leaving, meaning you and Billy didn’t have to stay holed up in your room.

“You’re hungry?” You asked after a bit, noticing Billy’s stomach grumbling lightly. You traced your fingers over Billy’s bare stomach, making him tense up at the light sensation of your fingertips.

Billy hummed in response, showing an annoyed look at his body’s involuntary action. He didn’t want to get up, he wanted to stay with you lying next to him for as long as humanly possible.

You shook your head at him, getting up off the bed. “You coming or what?”

Billy closed his eyes mocking distress at the thought of getting out of the warmth of your bed, but ended up getting off the bed and following you down into the kitchen.

“We should do something,” you said, biting down on a freshly buttered slice of toast. “Not in town though, people would recognise us being out of school.”

“What do you suggest?” Billy asked you with a slight curiosity in his voice. There was absolutely nothing to do out of town, Hawkins was practically in the middle of nowhere.

“Drive to Chicago. It’s only a few hours away - we’d be back by tonight at least.” Billy nodded along at your suggestion, finishing off his breakfast which was slowly becoming lunch with the time it was.

“We could watch the sunset at the lake or something.” You grinned at Billy who immediately rolled his eyes at your idea.

“If you’re trying to get me into romantic shit, you can stop right there.” He grumbled at you, waggling an accusatory finger at you all the while.

“Don’t say you don’t like the idea of it, I know you have a soft heart, Billy.” You gave him a small wink as he huffed in defeat, leaning back in the chair.

You got up and grabbed the plates, taking them over to the sink and given them a quick rinse to get rid of the crumbs. “We’re going, and we’re gonna have fun, alright?”

Billy held his hands up, slowly admitting to himself that, yes, he really was about to do this. He stood up from his seat and quickly snatched you by the waist before you could even think, pulling you in so close to him that his nose was bumping yours.

“We’re gonna have fun.” He repeated, kissing you gently before dropping his hands from you and running off up the stairs to go and get changed.

Once you had finished cleaning up, you went off to get changed as well, meeting Billy downstairs after you had both cleaned up and put on some clothes. Billy seemed like he was more open to the idea of leaving now that he’d had time to think about it more.

You were just leaving the house when Billy stopped suddenly in the doorway, blocking the exit.

“Is your mom not gonna kill you for not being here?” He asked you, realising that he was used to being scolded by his dad, but you hadn’t really done anything like this before.

“Relax, she’s never caught me before so she should be pretty chill about it. I’ll come up with an excuse and everything.” You smiled at him, and his concerned look slowly faded.

“What’s the excuse then?”

You hummed, thinking of something. “Mommy, I’m really sorry but I just couldn’t tear myself away from the very attractive boy from around the block. I hope you understand.” You said in the most innocent voice you could, unable to contain the smile that grew on your face as you said it.

Billy shook his head at you and back out of the door, rolling his eyes. You followed him out, locking the door behind you. You skipped a little to catch up with him, and you grabbed his hand when you neared. He almost pulled away, giving you a look of slight shock before relaxing and interlocking his fingers with yours.

You needed to walk round to Billy’s house to get his car, he said that he’d rather drive, that it was calming for him. The long roads to the city would make use of his speeding habit and you didn’t particularly like driving such long distances anyway. Billy assured you that neither his dad or Susan should be home, so taking the Camaro out wouldn’t be a problem.

Sure enough, you reached his house with no problems at all. You climbed into the car, Billy sitting himself into the driver’s seat, and without a word, he drove off.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Billy have an eye-opening time in Chigaco, planning out your near future together. It wasn’t exactly the best plan in the world, but at least it would end with Billy finally safe and sound.

You had only been in the car with Billy for an hour or so when Billy pulled into a gas station. He was complaining he was hungry and that the two of you needed snacks for the journey. The journey that would only last another hour, two at most. But instead of rolling your eyes at him like you wanted to, you went inside while Billy filled up the car with more gas.

You went straight to the snacks section, filling your arms up with candy bars and bags of chips. The guy behind the counter looked at you a little strange but you gave him a small smile and he went back to minding his own business.

You saw Billy walk in and he immediately strolled over to you, taking some of what you had picked up into his own arms since you seemed like you were overflowing. You shrugged at him when he gave you a curious look and went to drop your findings on the countertop. Billy apologised to the guy while you went off to find some drinks.

You came back as he had just finished ringing up the items you had previously left. There were several other people waiting behind the two of you beginning to get impatient. Billy finally paid for your feast and you got out of that place as quickly as you could before the other customers could get angry at you.

“You’re really a handful, you know that?” Billy said as he drove off, looking over at you. Your face, however, was in the bag of snacks you had bought, trying to find something to eat.

“No, what I got was a handful.” You looked up for just long enough to wink at him. He groaned and went back to focusing on the road.

You pulled out a Three Musketeers and offered a bit to Billy who looked quite frankly disgusted that you even thought he’d like it.

“Nougat is fucking gross, (Y/N).” He swatted your hand away and you frowned at him, whining slightly.

“Wrong.” You said to him before taking a bite from it. “It’s delicious.”

He shook his head, shooting another revolted look at you. You just smiled at him which made him even more annoyed at you. The girl he thought he might love liked nougat. He was going to have to seriously re-evaluate his life.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon when you reached Chicago, and it was a lot busier than you had expected it to be considering it was a weekday and everyone should be at work. It did have a nice air to it though – it was different, and different was exactly what you needed.

You found your way through the city and parked at the dockside. There was a small park nearby where you and Billy found yourselves laying in the grass, looking up at the afternoon sky. The spring trees were just growing back their leaves and some were even cherry blossoms, their soft pink petals flying by every so often when the wind picked up. You took in the serene sight and felt calmer than you had been in a long time.

“We could just leave, you know.” You said, your eyes closed since the sun was too bright to look at. Billy hummed softly in question, waiting for you to elaborate your thoughts.

“We don’t have to stay in Hawkins. We could just leave and never go back.” You turned your head to the side so you could look at Billy, peaking out through one eye. He was staring up like you had been, the sunlight reflecting perfectly in his blue eyes.

He pressed his lips together – he was clearly thinking it through. Of course, he would love to leave. He would love to drop everything and get out of Hawkins. Maybe go back to California, or find somewhere else. As long as it was as far away as possible from his dad.

“You couldn’t go.” Billy finally said, tilting his head to the side to look back at you.

You frowned at him and looked back up at the sky. It was almost clear of clouds, except for those light, wispy ones. Of course, you could go with him. You wanted to go with him. It was your idea. “Why not?”

“Because of your mom. You couldn’t just leave her.”

You sight, shutting your eyes tight at the thought. Billy was right. You couldn’t just leave her, even though you would have been leaving to go to college or whatever else at some point anyway. She only had you and it would break her heart if you just left without saying a word.

“I’d tell her. Write to her or something. Leave a note at least.” You sat up and took in the view around you. This was much nicer than fields full of cow shit and the never-ending silence that held your town.

“You wouldn’t do that for me.” You could feel Billy’s eyes on your back as he spoke. His voice was barely a whisper but you still heard it through the soft buzz of the city.

Would you do that for him? Drop everything and never look back? It certainly seemed like something you could do. Graduation wasn’t too far away – you could stay just long enough for that and then ditch that day. Billy fixed up his Camaro so he could probably get a job with those skills and you could find a college somewhere else that would take you. You’d make it work. You’d make it work for Billy.

“I would. I promise you that I would.” You smiled at him and he sat up to be closer to you.

“Okay. We’ll leave then. Just you and me.” Billy planted a kiss right at the corner of your mouth, making your skin tingle slightly. He stood up and brushed himself off, holding out his hand for you to take.

You grabbed on and he pulled you up. He was dragging you closer towards the docks. “What are you doing?”

Billy pointed to a sign. “We are going to rent a boat.” He said in a smug voice as he reached the guy at the booth to pay.

“Do you even know how to drive a boat?” You whispered as you waited for the guy to finish writing up some paperwork, something about insurance and liability or something.

“(Y/N), I lived in California. Of course, I know how to drive a boat.” Billy rested his hand on the small of your back reassuringly and you felt yourself ease up a little.

The man led you to the boat that was yours for the next two hours. He made sure Billy knew the controls for it before letting the two of you set sail on your own.

Billy took control and brought the boat out of its dock. You were a little scared at first, looking over the edge of the boat into the deepening water. You kept looking over at Billy who was too focused on steering the boat the right way to notice you. He’d put his sunglasses on and the wind was making his hair fly behind him.

You were starting to enjoy this. It was calm, quiet. And it was just the two of you. You wouldn’t have it any other way.

When you were out far enough, Billy turned the boat’s engine off and let it drift about on its own. He came and joined you, looking over the side back to the docks and the city.

“Do you really want to leave with me?” He asked you, removing his sunglasses and shifting himself so that he was side on to the side of the boat, looking up at you.

“Of course.” You smiled a smile more genuine than ever before. “We just need to figure out when.”

You spent the next hour or so planning your escape. You’d wait until after graduation, as close to it as possible. At least then, you’d have some form of qualification. You’d explain it to your mom, say you’re taking a summer trip and then eventually say that you’re not staying. If you wanted to stay with Billy by the end of summer. You were sure you would, but Billy made you promise to go back if you didn’t like it.

Billy didn’t like the idea of leaving Max behind with his dad. He’d never hurt her before, but he wasn’t sure what would happen to her if he wasn’t there. You made him stop thinking about it before he got himself into a hole. Max could definitely handle herself, and you didn’t think Neil would risk losing Susan by abusing Max.

He did say he’d tell her that he was leaving though. That she deserved to know where he was going. He’d never liked the idea of her being his sister, but they had become a lot closer after she witnessed Neil’s rampage. And Max was a good kid, she didn’t deserve to be left hanging.

The next hour of your trip was filled with the two of you planning what you would do when you left. Billy said he’d have to take you to this cafe in San Francisco, or down to the beach. He’d mentioned there was this one little park that he used to go to with his mom and he’d love to go back.

You were just happy that Billy was so happy. He seemed to love talking about California and his time there. While he hadn’t told you a lot about his past, you could fill in the pieces - his mom was the light of his life, and by the sounds of it, isn’t around anymore otherwise Billy would have suggested seeing her. Neil obviously found something in Susan and left everything for her, starting his new beginning in Hawkins. There were other bits and pieces you couldn’t figure out, like why Neil was such an ass in the first place, but it didn’t seem to matter so much now that you were planning on going.

It was almost time to turn the boat back in, so Billy took up the helm once more and got the boat back into its dock. It almost didn’t seem like a full two hours but you had fun with him nonetheless. You were looking forward to all your new experiences with him, especially if they were much like this one.

You and Billy decided to have dinner at a nearby restaurant that wasn’t too fancy but still beat the diner in Hawkins by miles and then head back. It was sunset when you were driving back. The colours seemed more beautiful than they could have been back home. You couldn’t tell if it was just because you were happier or if they truly were more vibrant. You were feeling the air run through your fingers as you hung your hand out of the window.

Billy couldn’t help but let the smile grow on his face as he watched you get all wrapped up in outside world. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve someone like you but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let go anytime soon.

* * *

By the time you got back into Hawkins, it was dark. Billy’s car was completely trashed with candy wrappers that you swore you would clean up when you got back, but you were so tired that when Billy reached your house, he contemplated carrying you inside.

You seemed to wake up just as his car came to a stop though, and you gave him a sleepy smile. Billy’s chuckle was enough to make you never want to go back inside and leave him again. It filled the air with warm tones, the kind you would let wrap around you and hold you forever.

You probably would have stayed with him if your mom hadn’t opened up the front door and began shouting for you to come in. You gave him an apologetic look and leaned up to give him a small kiss before getting out the car.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Billy called out as you climbed out of the car.

You turned back and gave him a small wave and he drove off afterwards, hoping you wouldn’t get in too much trouble from your mom. You’d had too good a day for it to be ruined like this.

“Why haven’t you been home all day?” She asked you as you neared the door, though her voice didn’t sound nearly as angry as you thought it would. “The school called and told me you weren’t in either.”

You took a deep breath as she let you inside. “I can explain.”

“Then explain.” Your mom sat you down at the island in the kitchen and went back to the washing up.

And you did explain, leaving out as much detail as possible about Billy’s life and why he wasn’t home so often. You did mention the fact that Neil Hargrove was the biggest asshole possible though, in the hopes your mother would understand why would stayed with Billy so much and why he came over at least every other day. She sat down and listened right next to you when she was finished, never interrupting, just letting you say what you had to say.

When you were done explaining, she gave you a kiss on the forehead and you realised you had gotten away with it. “You’re not in trouble. And if your friend ever needs a place to stay, he can take the spare room, alright?”

You smiled up at her. “Thanks, mom, you’re really the best.”

You left her and went up to your room. You had decided not to mention that you were thinking of leaving just yet, that would be a bit too much for her to handle right now. And she handled the other situation too coolly for you to drop that on her just yet.

You met up with Billy at school the next day, he was waiting by his car just as he usually did. Max was busy talking to him and he was listening intently for once. As you got closer, you realised she was talking about something she and the other kids she hung around with had been doing the night before.

When she noticed you were there, Max stopped what she was saying to say hi to you. You smiled at her in response, and she carried on with whatever she was talking about. She seemed to really like these kids and you were happy that she had found somewhere to fit in among all the chaos in Hawkins.

“Anyway, school’s about to start so I’ll head. Thanks for actually listening for once.” She grinned at Billy who just rolled his eyes before she skated away.

“Sounds like she has some cool friends.” You said as Billy lit up a cigarette. You resisted the urge to take it from his mouth and throw it away.

“How was it when you got back?” You asked, leaning up against the car beside him. Billy automatically draped his arm over your shoulders, pulling you into his side.

Billy shrugged a little, staring ahead of himself. “I don’t think he even noticed I was gone.” Billy’s tone was bitter even though you thought it would be better that Neil hadn’t noticed. If he had, you didn’t know what he might have done.

“Makes it easier to leave then.” You gave him a sympathetic look and patted him gently on the chest, doing your best to comfort him.

“It would be so much easier to leave right now.” Billy’s tone turned more caustic, and you could definitely understand why. You wouldn’t like to live under the same roof as his dad.

“My mom said you can take the spare room if you need it.”

Billy’s eyebrow twitched and he seemed like he was trying to register what you actually said. “She’d let me stay?”

“I explained a little about what was happening. So, if you need to stay over she won’t even question it anymore.” You slid yourself out from underneath his arm so that you could get a better look at Billy’s face.

Billy couldn’t hold back his smile that grew on his face. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it on the ground.

“(Y/N), I fucking love your mom.” He took your face between his hands and kissed you quickly. “You’re the best.”

“Does that mean you’re just moving in now then?” You giggled but it seemed like Billy was seriously considering it.

“No, not every night. But it’s good to know there’s somewhere else I can go without being afraid of getting caught.” Billy grabbed your hand and started walking towards the doors into the school.

“You can always stay with us.”

And he did, Billy was over almost every single night. He would leave if it seemed especially tense in his house just to make sure he didn’t suffer that night. There were a few times he timed it wrong, but for the most part, Neil had barely laid a hand on him for months. He’d even come over before dinner sometimes, as much as Neil gave him grief for it. It was dinner-time in the Hargrove house that was the worst of times, and Billy didn’t know if he could deal with much more of it.

And then graduation was right around the corner before you even knew it. Two weeks until you graduate. One week. One night. Everything was coming together so quickly and you hadn’t a clue whether you were scared or excited.

“Are you sure you have everything? And your mom’s fine with it? Are you sure?” Billy had been questioning every little thing you had done for the past hour, double checking everything. He was pacing about in your bedroom, taking things out of your suitcase, putting them back in a different way. He’d done it maybe three times now and it was starting to bother you.

“Billy. Calm down.” You placed your hands on each of his shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. “Everything is going to be fine. I made a list and everything. My mom is totally chill with it. It’s all good, okay?”

Billy hesitated a nod and pulled you into the tightest hug. You could have sworn you had maybe heard him crying, but the last time you had drawn attention to that you had been scolded so you kept quiet. You stroked a hand through his hair, humming gently to help soothe him a little. He rocked back and forth a bit, almost in sync with the music you had playing in the background.

You pressed a soft kiss to his neck when he had quietened down a little. He pulled back and sniffled a little, giving you a nervous smile.

“You definitely have everything?” He asked one more time and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes at him.

“For the last time, yes.”

Billy pulled you in by the side and pressed a kiss to your temple, lingering for a second to take you in.

* * *

Graduation went by in a flash. You barely had time to take it all in before it was all over and your mom was crying into your hair as she pulled you into a hug you thought she might not let go of. You were crying a little bit, too, but you wouldn’t let her see that. She was already enough of a mess, she didn’t need you making it completely worse.

Billy’s dad hadn’t even bothered to show up, but it didn’t matter. Your mother had taken matters into her own hands and was praising Billy and hugging him and generally being the parents Neil Hargrove should have been. She said that no kid should have to go without the support of someone at graduation, and your mom could have honestly provided that support for every student there.

He’d let slip that your mom reminded him of his own mom, always so kind and willing to help others. You’d told her this while he was gone for a bit and she couldn’t contain herself. She’d promised she would make sure he always felt welcome in her home. And she had, always. She consistently made an extra serving of dinner in case he needed it or made sure he had money so that he could fix up his car. She’d even given you a little bit of money for your “trip” and let slip that there may be more to come on your eighteenth birthday. Grandparents or something, always leaving sums of money for kids they’d never met.

It wasn’t long after that you were in Billy’s Camaro and waving goodbye to your mother who was desperately trying to hold in her tears. You didn’t like leaving her, but you knew she’d be okay without you. She’d made it on her own before, and perhaps with you out of the house, she’d finally go out and find someone else and make herself happy.

And so, the two of you made your journey across the country to California, the only place where you were safe and sound from Neil Hargrove’s abuse.


End file.
